Information For Authors
Editorial notice - Summer break
From 1 July to 31 August, the platform will be closed for new submissions, due to the academic summer break.
Requirements for manuscripts submitted
All manuscripts must be original. They must not be under review in any other journal. They should be written in Spanish or in English, using either American or British spelling.
Authors wishing to include images, figures, tables, or text passages that have been published elsewhere must obtain permission from the copyright holder(s) for both print and online formats, and provide evidence of such permission when submitting their work. Any material received without such proof will be assumed to be the authors' own.
If authors wish to add explanatory supplementary material exceeding the limits set in the Author's Guidelines (maximum 5 figures or tables), digital repositories with permanent links (e.g. Figshare) may be used.
Authors are encouraged to deposit supplementary material, at least the research data underlying the publications, in institutional or thematic open access repositories federated in the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC).
In the case of funding for research leading to this work, authors should indicate on the first page of the article the funding agency(ies) and the project code(s) under which the research was carried out.
If the work has been carried out with research data that include sex/gender variables, information should be added on whether the conclusions have taken into account possible sex/gender variations.
Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): Authors using Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in the writing of a manuscript must be transparent and state how it was used and in which parts of the text: whether in writing assistance; image production; data collection and analysis; transformation of other formats to text (e.g.: diagrams, tables, images, audios, videos); execution of analysis and generation of results; extraction of descriptors or vocabulary from the text as keywords of the article; systematisation of criteria; systematisation of criteria and generation of results; extraction of descriptors or vocabulary from the text as keywords of the article. e.g.: diagrams, tables, images, audio, video); the execution of analysis and generation of results; the extraction of descriptors or vocabulary from the text that are key words in the article; the systematisation of criteria; or in other aspects. They will also provide the statements or instructions given to the tool used (promts) to obtain their results, as well as the criteria followed to validate the information generated by the AI and the actions taken to reduce bias, misinformation, plagiarism or bad practices during the use of the AI. If they have used AI-produced images, they should indicate whether the input images respect intellectual property and whether they have permission to make derivative work or apply transformative use. They should also report whether they have produced tables or figures; synthesised arguments; contrasted differences or similarities between the evidence found and the results found; established explanatory mechanisms for the findings; or complemented the elaboration of the discussion.
They should also explicitly state the language model (LLM), the version used and the date(s) of use. Cite authorship and year according to APA (2020).
Example of AI usage statement: AI was used to assist the argumentation and drafting process of this manuscript. Model name, version and date] was used and its use was human-mediated.
They will use the following structure for reference:
Algorithm issuer (year). Model name (version, day, month) [Language Model]. https://....
OpenAI (2023). ChatGPT (version May 21) [Language Model]. https://chat.openai.com/auth/login
In the text shall be mentioned: Author (year), or (Author, year).
Warning: Once the manuscript has been written, it cannot be uploaded (in whole or in part) to an AI application to complement the review process, as its content could potentially become part of the training data. Confidential information would be shared - the manuscript would no longer be original - and the author's intellectual property rights would be violated.
Authors are fully responsible for the content of their manuscript, even those parts produced by an artificial intelligence tool.
Inclusive Language: Communication & Society adheres to the goals established by the United Nations whereby “using gender-inclusive language means speaking and writing in a way that does not discriminate against a particular sex, social gender or gender identity, and does not perpetuate gender stereotypes”. (https://www.un.org/es/gender-
Sex/Gender Analysis: Where relevant, and in order to ensure an inclusive and equitable approach to scientific production, authors are requested to incorporate a sex/gender analysis in their manuscripts. This analysis should address the relevance of these variables in the research design, methodological approach, interpretation of results, discussion, and study limitations. It is also recommended that the conclusions reflect any potential sex/gender differences, thereby ensuring greater rigor and depth in the treatment of the topics addressed.
1. Authorship
1.1. Authors are responsible for the content of their manuscripts. Articles that are highly similar to previously published work, including the author's own work, are considered plagiarism.
The maximum number of authors per article is four. If other researchers associated with a project participated in the preparation of the article, their names may be included in a footnote.
No more than one article by the same author will be published within a period of one year. Exceptionally, this waiting period will not be required if they have published in a special issue.
1.2. Manuscripts should be between 6,000 and 9,000 words, including abstract, footnotes, references, tables, and figures. They should follow APA guidelines (7th edition) except for minor details noted in these rules.
1.3. All manuscripts must include the following information:
- Title: Times New Roman 14, round bold and lowercase. Maximum length: 20 words. It should be clear and concise.
The title is of the utmost importance in reaching your potential readers. Therefore, it is essential to keep the following aspects in mind:
As for the content, it should be informative or explanatory, objective and attractive; always descriptive and concrete, avoiding superfluous or empty words. It is useful to include some of the key words for the recovery of the article in the search engines.
From a formal point of view, it is recommended to avoid as much as possible the initial article and punctuation marks (apostrophes !!!, question marks..., hashtags #, ats @, etc.).
- Abstract (200-250 words) in round bold 12 point font. It should include a summary of the main findings and the methodology used.
The abstract should be concise and descriptive, reflecting the content in the same order as the article. It should outline the purpose of the study, its objectives, the methodology used, and the main results, as well as the conclusions and implications of the findings.
It is advisable to repeat the keywords from the title in the summary to increase their relevance, which will help the article appear among the top results when someone searches for those terms (Transl. Baiget, Tomà s (2020). Manual SCImago de revistas científicas. Creación, gestión y publicación, p. 82 https://doi.org/10.3145/manual).
- 6 to 10 key words separated by commas, in round bold type with font size 12.
Keywords are retrieval points for the article; a range of 6 to 10 is recommended. In this section, words from the title should be repeated, along with the most important terms mentioned in the Summary, as searchers often limit their queries to just one of the fields.
It is recommended to avoid phrases (e.g., instead of “Crime in social networks,” use “Crime”; “Social networks”). Likewise, plurals are preferred (e.g., instead of “Cybermedia,” use “Cybermedias”) (Transl. Baiget, Tomà s (2020). Manual SCImago de revistas científicas. Creación, gestión y publicación, p. 82 https://doi.org/10.3145/manual).
- Remember to anonymize the article before uploading it to the platform and be sure to remove all names from the properties of the manuscript file. In addition, please remove all author names and institutional information from the cover page of the manuscript to allow for blinded peer review. If the manuscript has been funded or is part of the results of a research project, please indicate this, but to ensure complete anonymization of the text, be sure to remove any information that could identify you as an author. Authors must refer to themselves in the third person if the work is based on previous research. The number of self-citations should not exceed three.
Example:
For a project like this: Proyecto PID2020-115424RB-I00 financiado por MCIN/ AEI /10.13039/501100011033
The anonymized version should only indicate: Research project financed by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
1.4. Body of the manuscript
- In Times New Roman 12, single-spaced, left-aligned.
- Insert blank lines before and after headings and subheadings.
- No spaces between paragraphs.
- Within the text, each new paragraph should be indented 0.75 cm from the left margin on the first line. This does not apply to the first paragraph after each heading and subheading.
1.5. Once the article is accepted for publication, all authors of the manuscript should include their full name, affiliation, email address, and ORCiD URL (https://orcid.xxxxxxx) on the first page of the article. The ORCID profile must be updated to include the researcher's current employment/affiliation.
1.6. Along with the personal data, it will also be mentioned if the article was funded by a public or private entity.
2. Headings
2.1. Headings must be numbered in Arabic numerals without indentation. First-level headings should be bold. Second level headings must be italicized. Third-level headings (maximum) must be in round type.
Example:
1. First level heading
1.1. Second level heading
1.1.1. Third level heading
1.1.2. Third level heading
1.2. Second level heading
2.
2.1.
2.1.1.
etc.
2.2. Titles, headings, and subheadings must not have a period at the end.
2.3. Numbering must be done manually, not automatically. Numbering starts with 1.
2.4. The References section should not be numbered.
3. Quotations
3.1. All textual citations, except as noted in the footnotes section below, should be made in the text. Give the author, year, and page numbers, if possible, in parentheses and separated by a comma. If there is no direct quotation, simply give the last name(s) of the author(s) and the year of publication.
Example:
Currently, big data is not understood as "merely a technological transition to data deluge" (Lewis & Westlund, 2015, p. 448), as there is no single big data phenomenon (Boellstorff, 2013).
For example: Even within the idea of UGC, the problem with (ubiquitous) discussion participation is that "participation is still used to mean everything and nothing, [and] remains structurally undertheorized" (Carpentier, 2011, pp. 13-14).
3.2. When including explicit quotation marks, use double quotation marks (" ") and single quotation marks or back quotes (' ') within them, never angle quotes (« »).
3.3. If an unnecessary passage is eliminated from a quotation, use periods between square brackets to indicate this elimination.
Example:
"In a village of La Mancha [...] there lived not long ago... ".
3.4. Any changes, additions or handling interpolations in quoted material must be placed in square brackets. Example: "The story [historia, in Spanish] reflects the events in an ideal order".
3.5. Quotations longer than four lines should be indented 1 cm on the right and left without quotation marks and in Times New Roman 11.
Example:
We agree with the definition of data journalism given by Rodríguez-Brito and García-Chico (2013, p. 60):
The development of data journalism summarizes digitization processes; transparency, access to public information and open data philosophy; statistics and visualization tools; and the research skills of the journalist of all times to compile, filter, contextualize, contrast, prioritize and count a story in an attractive manner.
3.6. If there are four or more authors, cite only the first author's last name, followed by "et al." and the year of publication. Example: (Medina et al., 2018).
4. Footnotes
4.1. Footnotes should be used sparingly as an exception, e.g. such as for newspaper articles, interviews, sources such as archives and websites, and other similar cases.
4.2. Notes should be numbered consecutively throughout the article, in Times New Roman 8, single-spaced at the bottom of the page, with no spaces between paragraphs.
5. Bibliographical References
5.1. At the end of the manuscript, a list of all references used must appear under the heading "References" (please remember that they should not be numbered).
5.2. References must be listed in alphabetical order by author or editor. Different works by the same author must be listed in chronological order, from earliest to most recent. In such cases, the author's name must be repeated without the use of a line to suppress it.
5.3. Italicize the titles of longer works such as books and journals. Do not italicize, underline, or put quotation marks around the titles of shorter works, such as journal articles or essays in edited collections.
5.4. Authors must provide DOI (Digital Object Identifier System) numbers for published and cited articles in the References section (https://doi.org/xxxx). If such a DOI number is not available, the link to the article must be included (retrieved from http://www.xxx.org/xxx/285080).
5.5. All lines after the first line of each entry should be indented 0.75 cm from the left margin (hanging indentation) and written in Times New Roman 10, with single spaces and no spaces between paragraphs.
5.6. Names of publishers should be abbreviated. Please omit: Publishers, Inc., Plc., etc.
5.7. The names of the cities in which the publishers are located should be listed in the language in which they appear in the work itself.
Examples:
Book:
Schudson, M. (2008). Why democracies need an unlovable press. Maiden, MA: Polity.
Hallin, D. C. & Mancini, P. (2004). Comparing media systems. Three models of media and politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Book editor:
Voltmer, K. (Ed.) (2006). Mass media and political communication in new democracies. London, New York: Routledge.
Book editors:
Simonson, P., Peck, J., Craig, R. T. & Jackson, Jr. J. P. (Eds.) (2013). Handbook of communication history. New York: Routledge.
Alexander, A., Owers, J., Carveth, R., Hollifield, C. A. & Greco, A. N. (Eds.) (2004). Media Economics: Theory and Practice. 3rd ed. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Book chapter:
Kuutti, H., Lauk, E., Nevalainen, P. & Sokka, R. (2012). Finnish media policy: less restrictive, more directive. In E. Psychogiopoulou (Ed.), Understanding media policies. A European perspective (pp. 100-115). Houndsmills, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
Journal article with single author:
Christians, C. G. (1998). The philosophy of technology. Globalization and ethical universals. Journalism Studies, 12(6), 727-737. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2011.614809
Journal article with two authors:
Hutchins, B. & Rowe, D. (2009). From broadcast scarcity to digital plenitude: The changing dynamics of the media sports content economy. Television & New Media, 10(4), 354-370. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527476409334016
Journal article with three or more authors:
Valenzuela, S., Piña, M. & Ramírez, J. (2017). Behavioral Effects of Framing on Social Media Users: How Conflict, Economic, Human Interest, and Morality Frames Drive News Sharing. Journal of Communication, 67(5), 803-826. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12325
Journal article (without DOI):
Romero, M. V. (2008). Argumentación persuasiva y sintaxis en los mensajes publicitarios. Fórmulas con SI*. Communication & Society, 21(2), 171-192. Retrieved from https://www.unav.es/fcom/communication-society/es/resumen.php?art_id=17
Print newspaper article with an author:
Manrique Grisales, J. (2010, November 14). La bestia que se tragó Armero. El Espectador, pp. 16-17.
Print newspaper article without an author:
Drogas genéricas. (2010, September 25). El Tiempo, p. 15.
Digital newspaper article:
Medina, M. A. (2011, November, 28). Tahrir, la madre de todas las plazas. El País. Retrieved from https://elpais.com/internacional/2011/11/23/actualidad/1322041782_555751.html
Online article:
Harris, R. (2010, November 22). Evaluating Internet research sources. Retrieved from http://www.virtualsalt.com/evalu8it.htm
6. Style
6.1. Use a clear readable style, avoiding jargon.
6.2. Always use non-discriminatory language.
6.3. The following should be written in italics:
- The titles of books, journals, and newspapers.
- Foreign words or terms.
- Latin words or phrases not found in dictionaries.
- Second-level subheadings. Their numbering, however, must be in round type.
6.4. The names of institutions should not be italicized, even if they are not in English.
6.5. If technical terms or acronyms must be included, define them when first used.
7. Tables and Figures
7.1. Tables and figures must be included in the body of the text in the order in which they appear, numbered in Arabic numerals, and centered on the page. They may not exceed five.
7.2. Title, text, and source of tables and figures must be in Times New Roman 10, single-spaced. Title and source must appear in the header of the table or figure. The same applies to photographs, images, and illustrations.
7.3. Technical quality must comply with printing standards and require a resolution of at least 300 dpi (dots per inch). It may be necessary to have JPG or TIFF files.
7.4. Graphics, photos and images must meet printing standards (300 ppp.) and it is convenient to send this material in TIFF or JPG format.
8. Book Reviews
8.1. Book reviews should be no longer than 1,000 words. Reviews are welcome for books published in both English and Spanish. Reviews should be written in English or in English and Spanish, using either American or British spelling.
8.2. The following information is required: author (first name in lower case, last name in upper case); title of the work in the original language and in italics; publisher, city, year, and number of pages.
Examples:
Jesse WALKER
Rebels on the air: an alternative history of radio in America
New York University Press, New York, 2004, 326 pp.
Timothy COOMBS and Sherry J. HOLLADAY (Eds.)
The handbook of crisis communication
Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester, UK, 2012, 737 pp.
8.3. Note the page number of each quote from the book in parentheses after the quote (p. 45).
8.4. In the case of reviews of books written in languages other than English, quotations must be translated into English and placed in quotation marks, followed by the page number from which the quotation is taken in parentheses.
8.5. In the body of the review, bibliographic references to other works must be placed in parentheses and include the following, in this order and separated by commas: author (if different from the author of the book being reviewed), full title of the work, location, publisher, and year of publication.
Examples:
In his new book, Alfonso Nieto expands on the concepts outlined in his classic study of Spanish press from a business perspective (La empresa periodística en España, Pamplona, EUNSA, 1973).
or
This book contains a constant presence of ideas from the author's great master (see Luka Brajnovic, Deontología periodística, Pamplona, EUNSA, 1978).
References to the author of the book cited within the text must comply with the general rules, in other words, name and surname in lowercase.
8.6. At the foot of the text please include the reviewer's personal data in the following order: full name, ORCID ID, e-mail, and affiliation.
Online submission
Submit your anonymized article through the journal's OJS. Make sure that your name is removed from the properties of the manuscript.
The journal will automatically confirm receipt of the article. If the author has any problems with the platform, please contact our technical support (Rafael Heredero: rhereder@unav.es).
Within 30 working days, the Editorial Board will carry out a first editorial review of the articles received to assess the compliance with the minimum quality and the adaptation to the aims and scope of the journal, as long as the articles are anonymized both in the manuscript and in the properties of the document file.
The reviewing process may take up to 6 months. In this part of the process, our editorial team assigns the manuscript for review to experts in the field of research. Reviewers will send back their report in one month approximately: publish with minor revisions, publish with major revisions or reject. Upon receipt of the review reports, the editorial team will inform the authors whether their manuscript has been accepted for publication or rejected. Authors will receive the reviewers' reports with the notification of the decision. In case of conflicting reviews, the manuscript will be sent to a third reviewer. In all cases, the Editor will make the final decision.
Authors should resubmit a revised version of the manuscript with a revision table within one month maximum. Both authors and reviewers remain anonymous during the review process.
Once the article is accepted for publication, the author must pay €160 per published article; if the Spanish version is also published, the author must pay €320. We try to publish the article within 3 to 5 months from the date of acceptance, depending on the topic and the number of articles previously scheduled.
Communication & Society does not receive any other financial support, nor does it charge readers for access to articles. Our fee is used to cover the layout costs of all manuscripts. For this reason, editing and layout will not proceed until payment is received. Please contact Rafael Heredero (rhereder@unav.es) to pay the fee.